Kevin Harvick to Run No. 29 Throwback Scheme at North Wilkesboro

by
Peter Stratta
March 16, 2023

Photo Credit to Stewart-Haas Racing

Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing to Run 2001 Throwback to No. 29 in North Wilkesboro All-Star Race

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. – Retiring NASCAR star Kevin Harvick will be throwing it back to his rookie year at the All-Star race. When NASCAR returns to North Wilkesboro Speedway May 21st for the $1 million event, Harvick will be driving a No. 29 Ford Mustang, running the colors he made famous in 2001. For one race, the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 will be sidelined for the iconic number Harvick drove with Richard Childress Racing.

“When I sat in the 29 for the first time, it really wasn’t by choice, but I definitely wouldn’t have done it any differently,” Harvick said. “Dale’s passing changed our sport forever, and it changed my life forever and the direction it took.

“Looking back on it now, I realize the importance of getting in the Cup car, and then I wound up winning my first race at Atlanta in the 29 car after Dale’s death. The significance and the importance of keeping that car on the racetrack and winning that race early at Atlanta – knowing now what it meant to the sport, and just that moment in general of being able to carry on – was so important.

“I had a great 13 years at RCR and really learned a lot through the process because of being thrown into Dale’s car, where my first press conference as a Cup Series driver was the biggest press conference I would ever have in my career, where my first moments were my biggest moments.

“With this being my last year as a Cup Series driver, we wanted to highlight a lot of these moments, and many were made at RCR in that 29 car. So, with the All-Star Race going to North Wilkesboro – a place with a ton of history – we thought it made sense in a year full of milestones and moments to highlight where it all started.”

Racing the white and red colors in 2001, Harvick was ninth in the Cup Series Championship on the strength of two wins and 16-top-10s. This includes Harvick’s unforgettable first career win in start number three from Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Bakersfield, Ca. native also won that fall at Chicagoland. All of these milestones came with only 35 starts for Harvick in 2001, as he took over for Dale Earnhardt after his passing in the Daytona 500.

This is far from the first number change for a driver in the All-Star Race. In 2011, Jimmie Johnson ran a No. 5 and Mark Martin a No. 25, both for sponsor promotions. Five years later, Kyle Busch traded in his No. 18 for the 75, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of M&M’s Chocolate.

Now in NASCAR’s 75th anniversary, the oldest active driver will commemorate his rookie campaign from 22 years ago in the exhibition race. It will absolutely be a pleasure to watch Kevin Harvick wheel the No. 29 one final time.